Matt Bingle is in his fourth season as director of women's track & field and cross country at the University of Minnesota in 2014-15. He has been with the Gophers since October 2002 and became the first person to hold the title of women's director of track & field and cross country at the University of Minnesota in October 2011.

During Bingle's first three years overseeing both the women's track & field and cross country programs, the Gopher track & field team has earned three All-American honors, 12 NCAA championship qualifiers, 11 All-Big Ten honors and 119 academic All-Big Ten awards. In addition, the Gophers' cross country program has earned 14 all-region honors, five All-Big Ten accolades and 74 academic All-Big Ten awards since Bingle took over direction of both programs in 2011-12.

"Serving as director of women's track & field and cross country is a great honor for me, and I am extremely blessed to be here at the University of Minnesota," Bingle said. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for my wife and family."

Bingle's coaching contributions have paid dividends for the Gophers during the past 12 seasons as evidenced by the four Big Ten titles and a pair of top-20 NCAA finishes in track & field. The cross country team has advanced to 10-straight NCAA championships since 2005-06.

The 2014-15 season marks Bingle's 13th season overall at Minnesota. He spent his first four years with the Gophers serving under former women's cross country head coach Gary Wilson. His influence as the program's recruiting coordinator and his ability to attract some of the nation's top talent has been the primary reason for Minnesota's success both in the Big Ten and on the national scene.

In his first 12 years at Minnesota, Bingle's Gophers have secured 39 indoor and 60 outdoor track & field NCAA Championship qualifications. Thirty-four different Gophers have competed at the indoor or outdoor track & field national meets under Bingle, including at least one student-athlete every year since his first season at Minnesota in 2002-03. In total, Minnesota has secured 106 All-Big Ten awards on the track during Bingle's time with the program.

Track & Field Success at Minnesota

Bingle began his Gopher career as an assistant coach on the track in the 2002-03 season, during which he helped guide Shani Marks to All-America and NCAA runner-up honors in the indoor and outdoor triple jump. He coached the Gopher 4x400-meter relay team to the 2003 Big Ten indoor title, marking the first conference relay crown in Minnesota track history.

Bingle was recognized for his immediate contributions to Minnesota track & field by being promoted to the position of associate head coach after just one season as an assistant on the coaching staff.

In 2004, Bingle coached then-freshman Jacenta Spandl to runner-up finishes in the Big Ten pentathlon and heptathlon, and she scored 5,000 heptathlon points to qualify for the NCAA championships. From 2005 to 2008, Liz Roehrig claimed four-straight Big Ten titles in the pentathlon and won three Big Ten heptathlon crowns in 2006, 2008 and 2009 under Bingle's direction as well.

The 2006 season contained several memorable performances under Bingle's direction. Minnesota crowned multiple All-Americans and Big Ten champions and the program celebrated its first national champion, Heather Dorniden, in the indoor 800 meters. In addition to Dorniden's prolific rookie season, sophomore Liz Roehrig collected All-America accolades and won Big Ten titles in both the pentathlon indoor and heptathlon outdoor under Bingle's direction, and Christin Kingsley also earned her first trip to the national meet in the long jump.

After briefly serving as the track & field program's interim head coach, Bingle became the third head coach of Gopher women's track & field in March 2007, following Wilson, who spent 21 seasons as the head coach, and Mike Lawless. Bingle guided the Gophers to three Big Ten Indoor Track & Field titles (2007, 2008, 2009) and a Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field title (2006) along with supporting two Big Ten cross country titles (2007, 2008) before taking over as the director of women's track & field and cross country in Oct. 2011.

Most recently, Bingle coached the Gophers' 4x400-meter relay team to its first NCAA championships appearance in program history as the quartet of as Te'Shon Adderley, Megan Geyen, Titania Markland and Jessica Waldvogel took 19th at the 2014 outdoor national meet. Three Gophers earned All-American honors in 2014 as well, including Jess Herauf (indoor, pentathlon), Alena Brooks (indoor, 800m) and Devin Stanford (outdoor, hammer throw).

Before Minnesota

Before arriving at Minnesota, Bingle spent five years (1997-2002) at Eastern Michigan as an assistant coach of both the Eagles' women's cross country and track & field teams. He was the head recruiting coordinator for both programs and oversaw meet management. During his tenure at Eastern Michigan, the Eagles captured the 2000 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track & Field title, while also finishing as the conference runner-up four times. He coached 16 athletes to conference crowns and had 83 athletes earn all-conference acclaim.

Prior to accepting the position at Eastern Michigan, Bingle spent one season (1997) as an assistant men's and women's coach for cross country and track & field at California-Irvine.

Bingle entered the coaching ranks at Northern Arizona where he served as a graduate assistant coach for Lumberjacks' men's and women's cross country and track & field teams from 1995-97. During Bingle's first year at NAU, the men's cross country team finished as the runner-up at the 1995 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships. He helped coach 13 Northern Arizona athletes to All-America honors and helped the NAU track & field programs capture three Big Sky Conference titles. Bingle earned a master's degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona in 1997.

Bingle began his collegiate track & field career as a walk-on decathlete at Ball State. He eventually earned a scholarship and was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference hurdler during his career. Bingle was named team captain and was also selected as the team's most valuable runner. He graduated from Ball State in 1995. Bingle owns a USATF Level II Certification and served as the assistant technical manager of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships from 1995-97. He is also a veteran of several cross country and track & field camps and clinics, including currently serving as the director of the Minnesota Track/Cross Country Camps.

Bingle and his wife Jennifer live in Blaine. They have three daughters, Taylor, Allie and Grace.